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Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

What even xD
Didn't you just have a late shift two days ago? Your work is gonna jack up your sleep

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Crow spent the following two days journeying to and from Younis, where he had planned to sell off the Brerratic knights’ weapons. He had to be especially careful on the way there, since he was going on the trip alone while carrying the supplies he was certain the knights would be looking for. If a patrol happened to catch him by surprise, there wouldn’t be much he could do to defend himself, and he would probably lose the stolen items that he and the other thieves were relying on to get money.

Fortunately, he managed to cross the border without any trouble. On the other side, he found the Younisians’ camp quickly—it wasn’t the first time he had sold off war supplies to them—and handed over the weapons to a rather eager baron. The man offered him food and shelter for the night, since he had arrived late, and once again tried to persuade him to work for the Younisian forces by sabotaging the Brerratic frontline. Of course, Crow declined again and left the following morning as he had intended.

The journey home was more eventful.

Not long after Crow had crossed the border, a fight broke out between the Younisian and Brerratic knights, probably because some of the Younisians had gotten overly excited about their new weapons. The thief nearly got caught up in the skirmish, but managed to get out of the area quickly enough that no one seemed to notice him. After that, he treaded more cautiously until he returned to the ravine.

--

On the third day, Crow left early to go to Myrefall and bring the villagers their share of the gold he had been paid by the Younisians. While it wasn’t quite as much as he would have earned if the Brerratic knights had paid the ransom, it was still an impressive haul for one raid. There was enough for him and the other thieves to get by for the rest of the season, even after giving a large portion of the money away to the people of Myrefall. Overall, he was pleased with how everything had turned out.

Since he was going to meet Penelope that night and there was no point in going back to the hideout, Crow spent the majority of his day in the village. He spoke with the elders about their plans when tax season came around—fortunately, it seemed that they had more than enough to cover their dues now—and then passed the rest of the time by wandering around the streets with his hood drawn to sort through his thoughts.

As the time grew closer to his meeting with Penelope, his heart began to race with excitement in spite of everything he tried to tell himself. He knew he needed to stop getting his hopes up. It wasn’t going to be like before. She was a knight and he was a thief. They weren’t lovers anymore, not even friends. He needed to be cautious. After all, Simon was right: People change. He didn’t know what kind of person she had become, and it was dangerous to assume the best.

Still, he couldn’t tame his irrational heart.

The rest of the day passed by slowly, until darkness descended over the village. Crow made his way to the Ivory Hatchet tavern and found an empty table, where he sat down and ordered a drink as he waited for Penelope. As he did, he was struck with a pang of déjà vu as memories of two years ago began to surface. He grimaced, recalling the pain of waiting for her to show up in the Black Dagger night after night, only to be disappointed each time when she didn’t come. The excitement in his heart began to give way to old grief.

He knew he had told her that it was fine, and that she didn’t need to be sorry for abandoning him back then, but it didn’t change the fact that he still felt betrayed inside. He had been willing to give up everything for her, but obviously the feeling hadn’t been mutual after all. Now that the shock of initially seeing her again had faded, he found that he wasn’t quite so forgiving as he had previously thought.

Of course, he wasn’t about to tell Penelope that. He didn’t want her to know just how hurt he had been both two years ago, when he had stayed up late into the night to wait for her, and now again, when he had found out she hadn’t died, but had chosen to leave him without a word of goodbye. He didn’t want to come across as weak. He was a proud and accomplished thief who didn’t need her anymore. He had moved on with his life.

He just wished the confidence he portrayed didn’t feel so fake.

Crow looked up as the door to the tavern opened, and Penelope stepped inside. His heart beat a little quicker with mixed emotions as he saw that she was wearing a peasant dress, and he silently chided himself, She probably just wanted to disguise herself so she wouldn’t stand out. Still, he couldn’t help thinking it was cruelly ironic for her to show up wearing something like that to meet him in a tavern now when she had rejected entering into peasant life to be with him two years ago.

Overcoming his initial surprise, he lowered the hood of his cloak and gestured so that she would see him at his table.

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

I'll get a reply up tomorrow. I'm super beat, so I'm going to bed early
Night~

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Simon drove a bit of a wedge between Crow and Penelope ^^;

We can skip ahead to the day they meet! I had no plans for in between

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

“See you,” Crow nodded, watching as the two knights turned to leave the campsite. Once they had gone, he let out his breath in a sigh and headed over to sit by the fire. He felt torn. Half of him dreaded seeing Penelope again, while the other half was overjoyed that they would continue to meet up. He tossed some extra tinder into the flames and rested his chin on his fist as he stared into the warm glow. Even if things would never be the same between them, he couldn’t deny that he was glad she had become part of his life again.

Suddenly, he heard someone clear their throat behind him and turned around to see Simon walking up. The blonde thief sat down next to him and drew his knees to his chest, watching the fire burn. “Sorry if I’m interrupting your musings,” he said dryly. “But I have to ask: What in the world do you think you’re doing?”

“I’m making sure we avoid more unnecessary fighting,” Crow shrugged casually, trying not to flinch beneath Simon’s scrutinizing gaze.

“They’re knights,” the thief went on with a shake of his head. “I know you’re supposed to be the leader here, but I’m finding it difficult to trust this decision of yours. How do you know they aren’t just going to turn around and hand us over to their comrades?”

“They won’t do that,” Crow said quietly. “I’ve known them both from past encounters. We can trust them.”

Simon narrowed his eyes at him suspiciously, seeming to be putting pieces together in his mind. “People change, Crow,” he said after a pause. “Even if you think you know them because you did once before, you can’t say for sure that they’re still the same people.”

Crow bit the inside of his lip as Simon’s words casted a shadow of doubt over his thoughts. He didn’t want to admit it, but the other thief had a valid point. It had been two years since he had seen either of the knights. Even then, he had barely known Olivia. As for Penelope… He tried not to let the sting of her rejection influence his opinion of her, but it was hard not to connect the two. A lot had happened to both of them since their last night together two years ago. He knew he wasn’t the same man as he had been back then. Was it really a stretch to say that she was probably different too?

“You know I’m right,” Simon went on, catching his uncertain expression. “I know it’s too late to go back and change what you did, but I just want to make sure your better judgment isn’t being clouded by nostalgia.” He stood up and dusted off his pants. “You may think you can trust them, but please, watch your back.” With that, he turned and headed to the shelter to go to sleep for the night, leaving Crow to think over his warning.

People change… he repeated silently, prodding at the ashes of the fire with a stick. I guess I should be a little more careful around her.

Crow sat beside the fire alone for a little while longer before he was joined by Alistair and Rikki. The three spoke idly for a while—mostly about Alistair’s interest in Olivia, which Rikki was quick to poke fun at him about—before they eventually grew tired and put out the flames, heading into the shelter to go to bed.

For Crow, sleep didn’t come easily. He tossed and turned late into the night, wrestling over his conflictions about Penelope. They’d had a civil conversation with each other that evening, but Simon’s words continued to hang over his head like a dark cloud. What if he was right? What if she wasn’t the kindhearted knight he had once loved? What if she was just using him somehow in a way that he couldn’t yet see?

The doubts filled his mind, commanding his focus until he eventually managed to drift off into a fitful sleep.

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Sameeeee

Crow didn't want to tell Penelope that the knights still aren't getting their weapons back ^^;

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Crow felt himself relax as Rikki made Penelope feel welcome. He hadn’t been sure if any of the thieves would receive the knight well, since they all had a history of distrust for nobles just like he did. It was relieving to see that Rikki was at least making an attempt to be friendly. He saw her glance at him and he nodded subtly in gratitude for her warm greeting. The female thief’s grin widened at his approval and she stood up a little straighter before returning her gaze to Penelope.

Crow glanced at the other two thieves. While he suspected Alistair wasn’t overly excited to be working with a knight, he seemed more intrigued by Olivia than anything else. The flirtatious man would probably be content as long as he had opportunities to see her again. However, Simon’s reaction was a bit more concerning. The anxious thief was standing back rather defensively as he looked between Crow and Penelope. Crow swallowed and averted his gaze. He had never told the others about his history with the knight, but Simon was the most observant of the four, so it wasn’t unlikely for him to have picked up on something between them.

He turned back to Penelope as she asked when and where to meet him next. He dropped his gaze to the ground as he thought it over. Now that they knew the knights were planning to ambush them in Norcrest rather than pay the ransom, the next best option would be to travel to the Younisian frontline and sell off the weapons they had stolen. Of course, he didn’t intend to tell Penelope about it. She had agreed to work with him, but it was going to be a while before she earned back enough of his trust for him to share his plans with her.

Having decided on an answer, he looked up again, “Myrefall is right in the middle of our two camps. We should meet at the tavern there in three days after nightfall.” He glanced back at the other thieves for a moment before adding: “If you find out anything urgent between then and now, just come straight to the camp. I probably won’t be here, but you can speak with one of them instead.” He met her gaze once more. “Sound good?”

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Same! It's gonna be super interesting though. I already love it
I could see that. Crow definitely would not be happy about meeting Penelope's suitor xD

Crow decided to introduce Penelope to the others, since he wants to make sure they all know what's going on

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

While Crow wasn’t overly enthusiastic about every detail of the deal—especially the part where he would be interacting with her directly—he was glad that they had managed to come to some sort of an agreement. He also appreciated having someone around who could tell him about the knights’ plans. As the thieves had been coming to find out, sending spies wasn’t a very efficient way of learning anything, since the nobles always seemed to hold their most important meetings inside of tents near the center of their camp. With Penelope doing all the hard work for them, he could spare Rikki and Alistair from sitting around all day and have them do more important things instead. It was turning out to be an interesting development for everyone.

As Penelope brought up the point that they shouldn’t use the thieves’ hideout for their meetings, he nodded in agreement. “And I don’t want anyone else to find out where we are,” he added. “If you’re ever followed, it will be better if we’re caught somewhere that won’t force me and my companions to move.”

Penelope went on to say that they should head back and he laughed, “If you’re trying to keep them apart, it’s probably too late already. Alistair is the most persistent man I’ve ever met, and Olivia isn’t exactly modest, herself.” Regardless of his comment, he led the way back to the camp, finding that he was softening a bit to the female knight in spite of himself. As much as he told himself to move on, it was difficult when there was such a strong history between them. It seemed like it was going to take longer than he thought.

When they got back to the hideout, Crow saw Rikki and Simon sitting by the now-lit fire while Alistair was chatting rather closely with Olivia off to the side. Engrossed in their conversations, they didn’t immediately take notice of his return, so he brought his fingers to his lips and whistled to get their attention.

Once the thieves had walked over, Crow addressed them, “Everyone, this is Penelope. Penelope, this is Simon, Raven, and Alistair.” He gestured to each thief in turn. They exchanged confused glances, seeming to wonder why their leader was telling their names to a knight, so he went on to explain, “Penelope is a lieutenant, and she’s agreed to be our informant. She’s going to keep us updated about the knights, so we can continue to avoid them without fighting. All she asks in return is that we don’t engage with any knights unless we have to. She’s going to be around quite a bit, so I expect you all to treat her as you would any of us if or when you see her again. Got it?”

All three thieves hesitated, clearly unsure what to think about this new development. However, after a moment, Rikki stepped forward and clasped Penelope’s hand in hers, offering a friendly grin, “Nice to meet you, Penelope! I go by Raven, but if the boss trusts you, then I do too. You can call me Rikki.” She winked wryly.

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Makes sense lol
Crow was content with that decision

Nice! I like it